On January 30th (and through May), Universal Orlando Resort released a promotional video and web page announcing the new lands that will make up Epic Universe. It has been an exciting time to be a theme park fan! While anyone visiting Orlando the last few months has been able to physically see some of the progress, it was thrilling to see the official promotional material. This material substantiated some of the guesswork being done by fans. This article will be in this vein – some guesswork and speculation based on existing construction paired with what has been confirmed via the promotional materials.
The lands announced were as follows:
- Celestial Park
- How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
- Super Nintendo World™
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ — Ministry of Magic™
- Dark Universe
Upon initial announcements, the most details shared about these new areas – Celestial Park had the most to explore. There’s a lot going on in Celestial Park and it appears as the central location for Epic Universe. Chronos serves as the first portal entry point for outside guests. It is also an entry point for guests staying at the new Helios Grand Hotel. It has shopping and dining and all of the remaining portals are seemingly accessible throughout Celestial Park. It will contain a few attractions as well. One of the smaller attractions is an interactive fountain named Astronomica. The other two attractions are Constellation Carousel and Stardust Racers. Stardust Racers is a dual launch coaster and one of the landmarks we’ve been able to see during the construction process. It was really fun to see this area come to life. The interactive map was shared in the hub for this land on the Universal website.
The next big announcement came March 28th with news about How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk. During this announcement, Universal described Isle of Berk as being in the time between the 2nd and 3rd movies. Back in January, the creative team mentioned flying with dragons as the “ultimate wish fulfillment.” This vision has now come to life with their confirmation of Hiccup’s Wing Gliders family coaster as one of the six attractions in this land. Of the six attractions: three will be rides, one will be a show, one a play area, and one a character meeting with Hiccup and Toothless. The other two rides will be Fyre Drill and Dragon Racer’s Rally. Fyre Drill looks like a fun and competitive way to cool off on a hot day while Dragon Racer’s Rally’s guest controlled “dragon riding trainer” could provide a little more thrill. The show will be called The Untrainable Dragon. It will include musical numbers, sets and life-sized dragons. The play area will be themed as the Viking Training Camp. Along with the attractions, a dining location was shared as well – Mead Hall. I am curious to see how they will theme the food for this. I’m imagining something akin to what they serve at Medieval Times. However, we shall see. As for probably the most exciting attraction they announced, it has to be the Hiccup and Toothless meet and greet. As the aunt of a Toothless lover, I’m excited for the joy this will bring to so many dragon riders out there!
On May 2nd, Universal finally revealed what their Super Nintendo World™ has in store. This land seems to be focused on immersion and that’s exciting to look forward to. Because this land already exists in two other theme parks, it didn’t feel like there was as much mystery or speculation. However, with more space than its west coast counterpart, hopes were high. Orlando’s version will have some of the same attractions from both Hollywood and Japan. The three rides will be – Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge(Koopa’s Challenge in Japan), Yoshi’s Adventure, and Mine-Cart Madness in Donkey Kong Country. Universal described the coaster as giving guests “jaw-dropping maneuvers.” They have seen Donkey Kong and the mine carts perform these in the video games. The ride includes getting blasted out of a barrel. It also seems to jump over gaps as they speed along a rickety track. Donkey Kong country and Mine-Cart Madness will exist at Universal Studios Japan later this year, so we might be able to see even more details to explore on that front soon. All that said, I’m going to throw one last pipe dream (pun intended) in for this land. I would love to see Luigi’s Mansion come to life here. There hasn’t been any information on how these lands will connect or if they connect at all, but if they will, this could be a fun way to go from Super Nintendo World into Dark Universe.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on construction content you’ll likely have seen the Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ — Ministry of Magic™ portal already with its massive golden Elder wand topper, but it was still awesome to see the concept art as well. This land will have elements of both 1920’s Paris, reminiscent of Fantastic Beasts, and the British Ministry of Magic. It will be interesting to see how they marry these two places. I can’t wait to see what kind of ride they’ll unveil, but for now they’re keeping that tight lipped. I’m also curious to see if they’ll introduce new treats or interactive wand spaces like the ones that already exist in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. They’ve done such an amazing job with immersion throughout the existing Wizarding World themed areas that my hopes are high for this one.
Last, but certainly not least in this girl’s eyes is – Dark Universe. From the website it’s described “From the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein to a shadowy landscape where monsters roam, Dark Universe is a world of myth and mystery.” A land of Universal Monsters coming from the theme park that goes all out on haunted houses every Halloween? Sign me up! From some of the concept art we’re able to see what looks like a big ol spooky house. Again, sign me up!
Presumably, this is Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s house. While Universal didn’t confirm a ride, if you’ve been following any of the content that has been focused on the construction of Epic Universe, one could be swayed to believe or at least dream a ride will exist in this land. The rumor is, the ride in this land will use the same system as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™, but be themed to Dr. Frankenstein’s house. Another seemingly long shot attraction wish for this land would be a haunted house. Back in 2007 at Universal Studios Hollywood there was the Universal House of Horrors. This attraction used to feature live performers dressed up as characters from Universal’s horror films including The Mummy, The Wolfman, Psycho, Frankenstein, Nosferatu, and more. I doubt this will come to fruition only because they already have this type of attraction earmarked for Halloween Horror Nights and because of the development of Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas. Either way, we know Universal loves their monsters and they love horror so I’m thrilled they’ve chosen to bring this type of land to life.
Even with all the excitement and details that have been released, inevitably there are still unanswered questions. One of the big ones I kept seeing was about the parking situation. Will the main lots still be where to go or will Epic Universe have its own lot closer to the park? A different question that I’m particularly interested in is – what will the annual pass system evolve into to include Epic Universe? Will current passholders get to preview this park? Another question I saw floating around was about how moving around from land to land will work. Will there be walkways similar to how we move from different park areas now or will everyone have to go in and out of the main portals in celestial park to see other lands? Logistical questions like these might not seem as exciting, but objectively they play a big part in overall park experience so I’m curious to see how these end up playing out.
Obviously, there’s still so much more news to come for this theme park and we’re anxiously awaiting it. If the rest is as exciting as what we’ve already learned, we’re in for a treat all the way up until we can walk through all these portals ourselves.
By: Arely Garcia
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